GARCIA, GLOVER LEAD MIDDLESEX COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL TO THRILLING OT WIN AGAINST RARITAN VALLEY

Nigel Garcia scored nine of his game-high 24 points in overtime and Jahmere Glover added 23 points of his own as undefeated Middlesex College beat Raritan Valley CC 80-76 in front of a spirited home crowd.

The Colts have now won six straight games to start their season.

Middlesex (6-0) jumped out to a big lead early on Raritan CC (6-2), building a 20-7 lead in the game's first ten minutes. The Colts maintained a double-digit lead for much of the first half and took a 39-29 lead into halftime.

Damien Downes (Freshman/South Brunswick, NJ) came off the bench to score nine first half points to lead the Colts.

The Lions were able to slowly chip away at the Middlesex lead and at the 12 minute mark of the second half, Raritan had cut the Colts lead to just one. The game remained tight for much of the second half, although Middlesex maintained a small lead much of the time.

A Raritan three-pointer with three minutes left made the score 63-62 in favor of the Colts, setting up what would be a wild final few minutes of regulation.

The Lions took their first lead with just over two minutes remaining, but a layup by Garcia with one second remaining on the shot clock and 1:37 on the game clock gave the Colts back their lead back. A free throw by Raritan tied the game at 65 with less than a minute remaining.

The Colts took the lead back with 12 seconds left, but not without drama. With the shot clock winding down again and a Middlesex ball handler in trouble, the ball trickled out of bounds on Raritan CC with one second left on the shot clock.

The Colts inbound pass was briefly handled by Raritan CC, resetting the shot clock and allowing Glover to make a steal and layup. After the officials conferred at the scorer's table, they awarded the basket, giving the Colts a 67-65 lead with 12 seconds left.

The final possession of regulation belonged to Raritan CC and with 3.3 seconds left, Savion Pressley (Sophomore/Woodbridge, NJ) blocked a shot attempt by Alif Bass. Raritan retained possession but Justin Laguerre (Freshman/Union, NJ) blocked a corner shot attempt by Damon Strand, leaving just a half second on the clock.

The Lions however were able to covert a layup to beat the buzzer and force overtime.

Middlesex jumped out to the first lead in the extra period, but Raritan proved difficult to put away, tying the game at 76 with less than a minute left.

A driving layup by Garcia with 43 seconds left gave Middlesex their final lead of the game and a travel call on the Lions with 13.9 seconds left gave the Colts the ball back.

A long inbound pass from Downes found a streaking Glover who converted the layup to clinch the win for Middlesex.

The Colts take a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action on Tuesday with a matchup against Essex CC. Tipoff is set for 7:00PM.